Facebook Denies NYT Claim It Will Rebrand Oculus With Its Logo And Interface

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Facebook has officially denied a claim by a New York Times source saying the social network will plaster its logo and interface onto the hardware of its new $2 billion acquisition Oculus.

The New York Times’ Nick Wingfield and Vindu Goel wrote “According to a person involved in the deal who was not allowed to speak publicly because he was not authorized by either company, Facebook eventually plans to redesign the Oculus hardware and rebrand it with a Facebook interface and logo.”

A Facebook spokesperson tells me this is “not true and not in the spirit of our relationship [with Oculus].” The NYT source was likely referring to Oculus’ Rift virtual reality headset. The Oculus doesn’t exactly have a default interface but instead plays a variety of games and cinematic experiences, and Facebook hasn’t shown off any sort of virtual reality navigation system. So the idea of Facebook “rebranding” Oculus with its “interface” doesn’t make a ton of sense.

Facebook says it will allow Oculus to operate independently, similar to it says it runs Instagram, and plans to run WhatsApp — it’s two other biggest major acquisitions. That hasn’t kept Kickstarter backers of the Oculus for complaining about the acquisition.

Though Facebook may keep Oculus independent, that doesn’t mean the parent company will be completely uninvolved. It’s expected to contribute research and development funding, engineering talent, recruiting help, and more to Oculus similar to how Facebook did to supercharge Instagram.

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OverviewFacebook is an online social networking service that allows its users to connect with friends and family as well as make new connections. It provides its users with the ability to create a profile, update information, add images, send friend requests, and accept requests from other users. Its features include status update, photo tagging and sharing, and more.
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OverviewOculus is a technology company revolutionizing the way people experience video games. The company’s first product, the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, is currently in development and is set to launch in 2013. The company was founded by Palmer Luckey and veterans of RedOctane, developers of the acclaimed Guitar Hero series; Scaleform, the #1 user interface software in the gaming; and Gaikai, …